Madison, Wis. – Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham, Mayor Paul Soglin, and Overture President and CEO Ted DeDee are proud to announce the appointment of Kathleen Callaghan as Any Given Child Madison’s first Director of Development.

"We are excited to welcome Kathleen Callaghan into this important new role," said Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham. "Over the past five years, we've been committed to equitable access to the arts in our schools, and our collective impact work with Any Given Child Madison has allowed us to define the essentials of an arts-rich school. We are looking forward to taking this work to the next level and putting these essentials into action across our community."

“Any Given Child Madison has worked very hard to identify the opportunity gap in arts education and establish goals to ensure that every child in Madison has access to a top notch education inclusive of the arts,” said Mayor Paul Soglin. He added, “With the addition of Kathleen Callaghan, this group will be in a position to raise funds for projects and programs that are currently missing for some of our students. Kathleen comes to this position with great experience and she will play an essential role in the continued growth of Any Given Child.”

“We know and believe in the impact equitable arts education has on lifelong learning and success, starting in those critical formative years during grades K-8. Overture Center is excited and proud to join in the next step of Any Given Child to ensure our students in the Madison schools have equal access to programs that are critically important to their future development for years to come,” said DeDee.

In 2013 Superintendent Cheatham, Mayor Soglin, and DeDee jointly appealed to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, to include the City of Madison as one of the pilot sites for the Any Given Child (AGC) initiative. AGC was designed by the Kennedy Center to help communities use existing resources to develop sustainable long-range plans to ensure that all K-8 students receive a complete arts education. The Kennedy Center, impressed by the demonstrated commitment of Madison’s leadership, invited Madison to become the 12th city in the country to join their collective impact initiative.

The school district, the City, Madison’s largest performing arts organization, and other community partners all united in their effort to ensure equity in and access to a strong arts education for every child in the MMSD has already resulted in improvements. AGCM has achieved a better understanding of existing inequities in the arts education opportunities our children are receiving, as well as greater resource coordination between the schools and community artists, organizations, and businesses committed to helping MMSD eliminate the arts education opportunity gap among K-8 students.

The new position, which Callaghan will step into on April 30, 2018, will be housed within the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools and will enable AGCM to raise funds for co-curricular and arts integration projects that will help achieve the goal of ensuring equitable arts access for every K-8 child in the MMSD.

Callaghan will be responsible for advancing the mission of AGCM by developing donor strategies and increasing fundraising opportunities to support AGCM initiatives. As AGCM’s Development Director, she will work closely with MMSD, the City, Overture Center, as well as arts organizations and other community stakeholders who believe that all students should have access to a comprehensive arts education with inclusive, diverse, and integrated learning in all art forms every year as an essential element of a well-rounded education.

Callaghan joins the Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools with a balanced background in arts administration, fundraising, and music education. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Callaghan most recently served as Manager of Corporate and Community Development at Wisconsin Public Television, where she developed collaborative partnerships with businesses across Wisconsin and supervised an events team managing the station’s Quilt Expo, Garden Expo, and Auction. Previous positions include Associate Director of Development at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois, Education Director for the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and arts administration roles at Lawrence University, Ravinia Festival, and Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts.

Callaghan holds a Bachelor of Music degree in music education and horn performance from Lawrence University and a Master of Music degree in horn performance from UW-Madison. She and her partner Ben have an active family with three kids who enjoy dancing in the kitchen, riding bikes, basketball, painting, taekwondo and playing piano, trombone, or cello.

Callaghan views the arts as a space for people of all ages and backgrounds to explore creativity and nourish their being. Since teaching her first horn students or attending her kids' own performances, seeing students grow and experience joy from learning in the arts has provided her abundant delight and satisfaction.